audio cable ...help

[hifikrazy]

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

in fairness they are usually pretty comfortable so would be good for listening to music in

Electric chair would be preferable.

(Just to add to my charming posts)

 

[BenLaw]

What speaker cable and interconnects do you use SN?

My personal choices are hardly relevant to this discussion, since i am neither suggesting products to anyone here, nor suggesting they are deluded idiots.

It may well be off topic but thought you might want to share info of your system with a fellow enthusiast?

 

[TrevC]

It's even harder with imaginary differences. :dance:

Unlike you I remain largely agnostic on this. I have been round the hi-fi block a fair number of times and have heard, what I percieve to be clear differences in cables, during the normal course of selling and listening to hi-fi.

I completely accept that in many cases these effects were not 'real' and my experience of blind testing supports this, however there are some cases where I think other factors come into play.

There are some speaker cables of my aquaintance that seem to be voiced with a slight tonal 'uptilt', not sufficient to sound overtly bright, but sufficient to to sound controlled and detailed, I also find that some unshielded line level cables seen to have a slightly different sound to the norm.

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

You're fine. Speaker cables can sound different because of the varying voltage drop due to resistance and the varying impedance of the speakers.. Interconnects and anything on the mains side, totally imaginary.

 

[spiny norman]

It may well be off topic but thought you might want to share info of your system with a fellow enthusiast?

Not really into all this system-waving: what suits me may well not suit anyone else, and vice versa.

 

[Vladimir]

SN has Dinsdale! active cables.

 

[BenLaw]

It may well be off topic but thought you might want to share info of your system with a fellow enthusiast?

Not really into all this system-waving: what suits me may well not suit anyone else, and vice versa.

Well it's not system waving if I explicitly ask you and I can't see the relevance of whether your kit would suit someone else, it's what you bought and use. Don't really understand the reticence.

 

[BenLaw]

SN has Dinsdale! active cables.

SWYDT Doug.

 

[davedotco]

It's even harder with imaginary differences. :dance:

Unlike you I remain largely agnostic on this. I have been round the hi-fi block a fair number of times and have heard, what I percieve to be clear differences in cables, during the normal course of selling and listening to hi-fi.

I completely accept that in many cases these effects were not 'real' and my experience of blind testing supports this, however there are some cases where I think other factors come into play.

There are some speaker cables of my aquaintance that seem to be voiced with a slight tonal 'uptilt', not sufficient to sound overtly bright, but sufficient to to sound controlled and detailed, I also find that some unshielded line level cables seen to have a slightly different sound to the norm.

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

You're fine. Speaker cables can sound different because of the varying voltage drop due to resistance and the varying impedance of the speakers.. Interconnects and anything on the mains side, totally imaginary.

I may be in need of more help than I thought........ :doh:

The XLO interconnects that I favoured were constructed with miniature ribbon cable, 5 or 6 cores, wrapped in a spiral around a hollow tube, not dissimilar to a plastic drinking straw, there was no screen.

These were always my 'cable of choice' in better systems, I just thought they seemed open and transparent. They did not sound bright or dark and seemed to resolve detail without a hint of forwardness or brightness.

Back on the meds I guess.......

 

[spiny norman]

Well it's not system waving if I explicitly ask you and I can't see the relevance of whether your kit would suit someone else, it's what you bought and use. Don't really understand the reticence.

Yes, you asked, and I said I'd rather not say, and anyway don't think it's relevant. Now are you going to keep pushing the subject?

 

[spiny norman]

SN has Dinsdale! active cables.

Are those the ones with 'enough muscle and power to re-energise even the softest- or weakest-sounding systems'?

 

[BenLaw]

Well it's not system waving if I explicitly ask you and I can't see the relevance of whether your kit would suit someone else, it's what you bought and use. Don't really understand the reticence.

Yes, you asked, and I said I'd rather not say, and anyway don't think it's relevant. Now are you going to keep pushing the subject?

No, that's the first time you've explicitly said 'I don't want to', rather than give reasons as to why you might not provide the information. I had thought it was possible that if those reasons ceased to concern you, you might tell us. Given that none of the proffered reasons stands scrutiny, there is clearly another reason for your reticence. In those circumstances, I push the subject no further.

 

[radiorog]

It's even harder with imaginary differences. :dance:

Unlike you I remain largely agnostic on this. I have been round the hi-fi block a fair number of times and have heard, what I percieve to be clear differences in cables, during the normal course of selling and listening to hi-fi.

I completely accept that in many cases these effects were not 'real' and my experience of blind testing supports this, however there are some cases where I think other factors come into play.

There are some speaker cables of my aquaintance that seem to be voiced with a slight tonal 'uptilt', not sufficient to sound overtly bright, but sufficient to to sound controlled and detailed, I also find that some unshielded line level cables seen to have a slightly different sound to the norm.

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

You're fine. Speaker cables can sound different because of the varying voltage drop due to resistance and the varying impedance of the speakers.. Interconnects and anything on the mains side, totally imaginary.

Sorry dude.... but 100%, plain incorrect. Crazy that you are actually posting that if not as a wind up, and I guess there are rules against that. So I'm guessing you believe they are imaginary beauase you gave never noticed any difference. It doesn't mean that other people haven't had genuine experiences to the contrary.

 

[BenLaw]

It's even harder with imaginary differences. :dance:

Unlike you I remain largely agnostic on this. I have been round the hi-fi block a fair number of times and have heard, what I percieve to be clear differences in cables, during the normal course of selling and listening to hi-fi.

I completely accept that in many cases these effects were not 'real' and my experience of blind testing supports this, however there are some cases where I think other factors come into play.

There are some speaker cables of my aquaintance that seem to be voiced with a slight tonal 'uptilt', not sufficient to sound overtly bright, but sufficient to to sound controlled and detailed, I also find that some unshielded line level cables seen to have a slightly different sound to the norm.

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

You're fine. Speaker cables can sound different because of the varying voltage drop due to resistance and the varying impedance of the speakers.. Interconnects and anything on the mains side, totally imaginary.

Sorry dude.... but 100%, plain incorrect. Crazy that you are actually posting that if not as a wind up, and I guess there are rules against that. So I'm guessing you believe they are imaginary beauase you gave never noticed any difference. It doesn't mean that other people haven't had genuine experiences to the contrary.

I don't think TrevC is arguing that people haven't had experiences to the contrary, more whether their subjective perceptions reflect objective reality.

 

[Vladimir]

SN has Dinsdale! active cables.

Are those the ones with 'enough muscle and power to re-energise even the softest- or weakest-sounding systems'?

I say go for it.

 

[radiorog]

It's even harder with imaginary differences. :dance:

Unlike you I remain largely agnostic on this. I have been round the hi-fi block a fair number of times and have heard, what I percieve to be clear differences in cables, during the normal course of selling and listening to hi-fi.

I completely accept that in many cases these effects were not 'real' and my experience of blind testing supports this, however there are some cases where I think other factors come into play.

There are some speaker cables of my aquaintance that seem to be voiced with a slight tonal 'uptilt', not sufficient to sound overtly bright, but sufficient to to sound controlled and detailed, I also find that some unshielded line level cables seen to have a slightly different sound to the norm.

Time for a spell in the psychiatrist's chair maybe......... :?

You're fine. Speaker cables can sound different because of the varying voltage drop due to resistance and the varying impedance of the speakers.. Interconnects and anything on the mains side, totally imaginary.

Sorry dude.... but 100%, plain incorrect. Crazy that you are actually posting that if not as a wind up, and I guess there are rules against that. So I'm guessing you believe they are imaginary beauase you gave never noticed any difference. It doesn't mean that other people haven't had genuine experiences to the contrary.

I don't think TrevC is arguing that people haven't had experiences to the contrary, more whether their subjective perceptions reflect objective reality.

Why is it so hard for some people to accept other peoples TRUTHES. I KNOW that I heard a major difference between two interconnects. Stop telling us we are imagining things. We are not....you are simply ignorant.

 

[spiny norman]

Given that none of the proffered reasons stands scrutiny, there is clearly another reason for your reticence

What is this, a cross-examination? I have no wish to share details of my system, and I believe it's my right not to do so without providing reasons that stand up to your scrutiny, isn't I? (Double-checks House Rules for the one about meeting BenLaw's approval, finds nothing).

And enough of the suggestion of some mysterious reason of your own imagining: what with gel suggesting people who read the magazine and don't regsiter for the website are odd, and you doing the CSI bit, this is forum is all a bit creepy today...

 

[abacus]

All blind quality cable tests have proven that they do not make a difference. (Fact)

No verifiable tests proving otherwise have been produced anywhere in the world by anybody. (Fact)

Unless the above facts can be disproved, then the argument is closed.

Accept it or prove otherwise.

Bill

 

[spiny norman]

I say go for it.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/cobra-vee-3

 

[spiny norman]

Unless the above facts can be disproved, then the argument is closed.

Accept it or prove otherwise.

Why are objectionalists always trying to get arguments or threads closed?

 

[Steve Reichert PR Manager ArmourHome]

Hello everyone,

I naively didn't expect this thread to go on for so long - silly me

.

A number of posts ask questions about QED's design procedures and controls, which I'd like to clarify.

(1) Does QED undertake quality control in the far east?

Yes, QED conducts vigorous product testing and quality control on suppliers' premises and at our facility in Hong Kong. 'Armour Asia' (QED is an Armour Group Brand) was formed for precisely this purpose and we have a whole team of people whose sole job is to ensure our products meet our tightly controlled specifications.

(2) Does QED design/specify everything that goes into every one of our cables?

Well yes, of course we do. We specify precisely the number and diameter of each individual strand of cable and of course, the purity of the copper or silver involved. We also precisely specify type, size, density and construction of all the dielectrics and of course, the geometry of each cable. That is, how all the strands are bunched (or not), the 'twist rates' and how they are positioned within the various dielectrics.

How do we decide such things? Through lots of objective research and measurements at our facility in Woking, until we attain the results we wish to achieve. Naturally, these concentrate around the cable's Resistance, Inductance, Capacitance and Dissipation Factor.

(3) Do we undertake blind testing.

Again, yes of course we do. We conduct blind tests of our products against our competitors' models and also during the various prototype stages when developing new models.

Sometimes (but not too often) - Shock, Horror

- we discover that the sonic performance of one of our competitors' models has overtaken us. I confess that was the case about eighteen months ago and the new Reference Audio 40 and new Signature Audio 40 interconnects are our response to that discovery. We're very confident that we again lead the field.

Best regards,

Steve Reichert - PR Manager, Armour Home (QED)

 

[Alec]

(3) Do we undertake blind testing.

Again, yes of course we do. We conduct blind tests of our products against our competitors' models and also during the various prototype stages when developing new models.

Sometimes we discover that the sonic performance of one of our competitors' models has overtaken us.

You could take your workforce out for a fair few drinks on Randi et al, by the sounds of it! Impressive stuff indeed!

 

[radiorog]

All blind quality cable tests have proven that they do not make a difference. (Fact)

No verifiable tests proving otherwise have been produced anywhere in the world by anybody. (Fact)

Unless the above facts can be disproved, then the argument is closed.

Accept it or prove otherwise.

Bill

I'm sorry bill. You are wrong as well. No scientific evidence exists to prove or disprove either theory. Therefore, all we can do is debate, and use our god given instincts and ears. Now I know this is hard for some of us, but I know I DID hear a definite difference. That is a fact. But neither you or I can prove or disprove it

"Next!"

 

[Vladimir]

Excellent PR work Steve, I acolyte you with 5 stars for doing an excellent job for QED.

I may even buy QED XTC with the X-Tube Aircore center when oportunity occurs. It looks to be reasonably priced at only £4.95 per ft.

 

[Vladimir]

I'm sorry bill. You are wrong as well. No scientific evidence exists to prove or disprove either theory. Therefore, all we can do is debate, and use our god given instincts and ears. Now I know this is hard for some of us, but I know I DID hear a definite difference. That is a fact. But neither you or I can prove or disprove it

"Next!"

No stars for you with that attitude buddy. Relax a bit, its just toys.

Carry on.

 

[radiorog]

I'm sorry bill. You are wrong as well. No scientific evidence exists to prove or disprove either theory. Therefore, all we can do is debate, and use our god given instincts and ears. Now I know this is hard for some of us, but I know I DID hear a definite difference. That is a fact. But neither you or I can prove or disprove it

"Next!"

No stars for you with that attitude buddy. Relax a bit, its just toys.

Carry on.

Lol...I know...wrong side of bed perhaps today, but some people talk some be on here, and newbies like me look to people yourselves for good advice, and nothing winds me up more than people using science, badly.